What makes a perfect crime thriller? Dramatizing the real-life unsolved case of the Zodiac Killer, the film maps how the titular criminal terrorized America by repeatedly taunting law enforcement and leaving ciphers for the public to solve. The unsolved nature of the Zodiac Killer case haunts both men, leading them on different paths that bring their flaws and anxieties to the forefront. The film is also a masterclass in suspense, where an anxious glance between two investigators holds much more weight than a shoot-out in any run-of-the-mill crime thriller. This is how Zodiac becomes the perfect crime thriller: By checking every conventional genre box and cleverly subverting expectations at the same time.